Parallel Lives
by PrettylilPuppet
Summary: AU where the Millefiore is destroyed from within before the Choice battle. Byakuran captures Mukuro but slowly starts to fall inlove with him. Bel and Fran spend more time together because of all this too. Sorry, I'm terrible with summaries. WARNING: Adult themes (idk how to explain it other than that) Mainly 10069 and B26 but other ships will come later
1. Chapter 1: The White Room

_So.. This is the first fanfic I've written in a while (so be nice).  
It's based off a role-play with a friend of mine (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE BBY)._

The idea is of a parallel universe where the Millefiore was destroyed from the inside before they even got to the choice battle. I guess its an AU of sorts and I will try to stick to the original KHR plot as often as possible so please bare with me if I change one or two things. This is gonna be quite a long fanfic and I'm rating it T for now but I might change that later   
_All rights to the anime, manga and characters belong to Akira Amano and other respected creators. _  
_I hope you enjoy_

* * *

Mukuro looked around at the cold; white room and sighed. His memory was fuzzy thanks to the drugs and heavy kick he'd taken to the head. As the events of the previous days began to resurface he cursed his own idiotic confidence. Of course the white-haired don would have discovered his real identity. Now that he thought about it; Byakuran had probably known for a while now - he'd simply been playing the game as well. He thought back to the very moment things had gone wrong...

_"I have prepared the reports for you, Byakuran-sama"_

_"Ah Leo! you never cease to amaze me~ how do you get all of these reports filed so quickly and so expertly?" The angelic smile plastered on the mafioso's face was another special ability he seemed to possess - how could he smile so perfectly and yet so dishonestly?_

_Then of course there were those damn flowers; he'd been a little bit cocky buying them for the man, he had to admit. Those traitorous plants that had so cruelly given him away; forced him to reveal his true self._  
_"Kufufufu, so you're finally putting an end to this game?~"_

_The battle hadn't taken long; he was no match of course. Byakuran soon had him on the floor clutching his bleeding eye and straining just to keep himself from collapsing on the spot and loosing consciousness. His side ached and his trident lay broken in the corner; the greatest illusionist in the world defeated so easily. At first he just couldn't accept that fact, but as it began to sink in he lashed out one final time. That earned him another kick to the ribs. He keeled over again and clutched at what he was sure was already a very impressive bruise._  
_Byakuran took hold of his hair and pulled him up to half his own height, grinning madly in a way the bluenette was sure that psychotic prince of the Varia would have been proud of._  
_Then the white-haired lunatic had leaned over him and whispered softly into his ear "I think I may have some use for you yet.. "_

He woke up a few hours later in the mafia boss' room; lying on the bed completely naked, handcuffed and cold - wrapping the blanket around him he got up and wondered around the room; looking out of the windows and pushing on the door - locked of course. The room looked out upon the city - a busy and bustling city where the people may as well have been ants from where he stood; Mukuro could imagine Byakuran standing there in just a year's time looking out upon the charred remains and smoldering ash of what was once Namimori. He could see the man's smug face twist into a grin as he took in his surroundings and laughed at all those who died in the battle to come. Of course its not like he really cared either - it was his own goal to possess Tsunayoshi and destroy the world himself one day. There were however a few people he would miss when that time came; Ken, Chikusa, Chrome and of course his faithful student Fran. However he just couldn't let this.. marshmallow-obsessed moron take over the world before he had a chance to squeeze the life from it first! Absolutely not - and this place would be the first to go when he achieved that target.  
As he circled the room for the third time the memories of the previous couple of days began to flood back - he clutched at his stomach and suddenly felt like vomiting right in the middle of the pristine, white floor. That surely would spite the madman.

He'd let that man fuck him... and what really made Mukuro's stomach turn was that he hadn't put up much of a fight. He could blame the drugs; the dizziness; maybe the mafioso had even gotten him drunk to a point (something you should never do to an illusionist so he highly doubted that) - but he knew deep down that he hadn't put up his best effort of resistance.  
And he knew why. He was defeated; useless and pathetic. Why should he put up a fight when he wouldn't have won anyway?  
Mukuro was never the most positive of people. It was one of the reasons he hated the Vongola brat so much - all that stupid positivity would get him no where. He had to be able to see what was real and what wasn't - and any chances of him escaping Byakuran back then were completely unrealistic.  
So he submitted. It still made him feel utterly disgusting though, and next time he'd definitely make sure to let Byakuran know that. 

* * *

Byakuran sat at his desk and smirked - the drugs he'd been having put into the illusionist's food would be starting to wear off finally. He'd be able to mentally scar the man now too. He could even have intelligent conversations with him! This is what he'd been waiting for - to have the Vongola's infamous mist trapped and tortured - but in full knowledge of what was happening. He could watch as his cute little captive's mind finally broke and he gave in to the boss of the Millefiore. That would surely teach the Vongola a lesson they'd never soon forget - that they should never ever mess with someone as powerful as him.  
He scooped another helping of his favourite vanilla and marshmallow sundae into his mouth and thought about the illusionist in his room right now. He was probably trying to think of some escape plan that would have no chance of working. Byakuran began to wonder if he had ever come across anti-illusion handcuffs before. Coupled with the shielding he'd had put up around his room and the decoy cell he'd had made he highly doubted anyone would attempt a rescue mission any time soon; or that the illusionist would find a way to escape by himself for that matter - he could not afford to underestimate his enemies at this current time.  
After about an hour of only thinking of the man locked in his room he finally got up to return there, smirking. Oh, he couldn't wait to explain Mukuro's current situation to him and watch the expression of utter horror overtake the now-powerless magician's face. He licked his lips and opened the door. 

* * *

_Sorry if this seemed a bit short __and badly written_  
_(and for all the spelling mistakes originally made which I hope have now all been corrected)_

_I'm working up to longer chapters, I swear! But yeah.. I hope none of you hate Byakuran too much right now because I plan on making his character so much worse and then letting him redeem himself later in the plot. Another warning that there will be some dark themes later in the plot - and Byakuran's sadistic personality is kinda leading up to that (I hope)._


	2. Chapter 2: Some Sort of Explanation

_note: 'anti-illusion' handcuffs were made by YunaAbyss and myself during the role-play xD _  
_(for anyone who was wondering) - they're made from a specific type of metal and have symbols on them designed specifically for draining illusionary powers. Byakuran had the metal melded under the floorboards of his room as well as in the handcuffs Mukuro wears so his powers are constantly getting drained. It's like kyrptonite for illusionists xD_  
_(and yes, I did make some of this up just now)_

* * *

Byakuran walked into his room and looked at the figure of the illusionist stood before him -draped in a blanket; the perfect walk-of-shame image - complete with messy hair and a lot more pale skin showing than Mukuro had hoped. From the pose he was taking it was quite clear the man was aiming to look threatening and Byakuran just couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh Muku-chan!.. feeling better? You've seemed a bit out of it the past few days."

"And I wonder who's fault that would be? Hm?~" The response was cold with a hint of - was that? yes, it was.. fear. Mukuro was afraid of him now; he knew exactly what he was capable of and that he had no hope of escaping his fate.  
"Tch.." It seemed as though the illusionist didn't need to read his mind to know what the boss was thinking at that moment - the broad smirk on his face must have been evidence enough of the bitter-sweet truth that Byakuran was allowing himself to consider. The Vongola's illusionist, Mukuro Rokudo, was going to be his. He sat down on the bed and patted the side on his left; inviting Mukuro to sit.  
"Thank you, but I'd prefer to stand. What do you think you're doing?! Why did you not have me killed?"

"Because that would have been too good for you, my dear.. I prefer to humiliate my enemies. But now I've had a taste, I think I'm addicted. I want to keep you~"  
At that Mukuro's look turned to that of disgust. Byakuran shrugged it off and popped another marshmallow into his mouth, then offered the illusionist the packet.

"I don't like sweets."

Maybe not as perfect a situation as he had hoped then; but he could be trained. Until then, more for him. He watched as Mukuro paced the room for what was probably the third time that day and walk over to the window.

"Why do you have this here if you hate the world?"  
The questions struck him as odd.

"Who said I hate the world?" He responded with his own and looked at the confused expression take over the man's face. "I simply think it can be better. it isn't perfect."

Mukuro sighed and looked at him then,"Nothing is perfect, stop messing around and explain this situation."

"Ara?~ You haven't understood enough over the past few days? You're my new toy!"

"W-What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Mu~ku~chan~"

"Don't call me that! My name is Mukuro and I'm Italian.. and a guy!" But he knew the answer he was going to receive.

"I can call you whatever I please."

* * *

"S-Stop it already!"

It's probably worth mentioning at this point that illusionists have a very low tolerance to pain - in fact a lot worse than ever those who don't use flames. They have to sacrifice something for that power after all. So when the new punches came - without his illusions to protect and hide him Mukuro was quick to beg. He hated what he had become so much but Byakuran had already started to break him during those past few days.  
The heavy jab to the side was followed by a rough kick to the stomach - then he was on the floor while Byakuran pushed his foot down on his head. The cruel laugh that escaped the man's lips was another reminder of just how unlikely Mukuro was to escape. The Millefiore Boss enjoyed dishing out his punishment for those betraying words far too much for that.  
"You will never ever tell me what I can and can't do ever again."  
He felt a sharp pain to the back of his head when Byakuran kicked him again - before he pulled him up and threw him to the bed. Mukuro sighed and prepared himself for what was about to come. Until it didn't.  
Instead he felt a sharp pain in his eye..

He screamed and struggled but Byakuran just dug the knife into the socket even deeper, stabbing and stabbing until the blood trickled down the blade and onto his white pants - dirtying them. The illusionist knew he would get blamed for this as well and gasped when he felt the same knife again and again - in his arm, leg, hip; anywhere that wouldn't kill him. And Mukuro began to realize that was what he hated most about this - Byakuran knew exactly where to hurt him and when to stop before it was just too much for his body to take anymore. He wouldn't kill him so he could just escape this torture the simple way out.  
Mukuro had never wanted to die before - sometimes he 'killed' himself in a fight to unlock his greater power but that wasn't the same. It wasn't really dying- besides, he was in control and he knew he'd come straight back. This was different. He wasn't in control of his own life anymore - that belonged to the man stood in front him now.

"Disgusting."

With that Byakuran left and allowed the doctor to come in and treat Mukuro's wounds - the Millefi had equipment better than even the Vongola. Byakuran had received the best information and data from all of the parallel worlds to make sure of this.  
However he told the doctor not to fix Mukuro's dreaded eye completely. And so the illusionist sat silently as the doctor treated and cleaned the wound - but did not fix it. The doctor left the illusionist almost as good as new then.

Mukuro sat quietly on the bed and contemplated his life at this current moment. The doctor had not uttered a word to him - was that pity?  
No, something much worse. He was simply not even worth acknowledging anymore; not worth the time to strike up a conversation or the assumption that he would even have something remotely worthwhile to say - cooped up in here all day in this room like he was.  
He hated Byakuran more and more in that moment - but he hated himself even more than that. It didn't take long before he began to beg for the man to stop his relentless assault. He knew he couldn't handle a lot of pain but it was still shameful to admit. He touched the pure white eye-patch covering his cursed bloody socket and sighed.  
It was in that moment that one face came to mind - Hibari Kyoya.  
He remembered when he had held the skylark captive for a long time years ago - and how much the man had hated him for it afterwards. Not that he cared for the man - he would never admit that - but he found that as they grew up around each other as guardians he did quite enjoy his company.

_'Kufufufufu, isn't it funny the people you think of at times like this?'_

He remembered how Kyoya had looked at him for that period of time while he remained a hostage - such hatred and rage that lay hidden behind those cold, black eyes. It only made him want to bring out any emotion when the prefect looked at him like that - be in pain or sorrow. It had enraged him. In that moment he decided to try and avoid evoking that same rage in his own captor - as he had just done. He would scream and cry as much as the mafia boss wanted if it would keep him happy. He chuckled to himself, always so contradictory. He knew that none of this would matter soon anyway - Byakuran was an expert in breaking a person; he had seen the Yuni girl once before; the cold, lifeless look in those doll-like eyes. He knew that the route Byakuran took to create that was a lot simpler with what he was doing to Mukuro - he had simply separated the soul and body. His plans for Mukuro were much worse than that - he wanted to destroy the soul. Or at least make it so docile and scared that there was nothing left to fear from the illusionist. Mukuro wasn't stupid - he knew his fate.  
Wincing slightly at the pain of a wound still healing in his arm he stumbled over to a corner of the room - it wasn't as comfy but it wasn't a bed. The bed reminded him too much of his predicament. He was Byakuran's whore. He glared - or tried to - at the soft sheets; made from the finest material and stuffed with the fluffiest down feathers. It reminded him of a marshmallow - and that thought wasn't at all soothing, he decided.

In that moment Mukuro realized the petty thought that had just escaped wasn't at all unwarranted. It was a fickle and deceiving subject: acting pure when in fact it was the most tainted thing of all. So fickle it - it isn't even a real colour.

Yes, he despised 'white'.

* * *

_Yeah that was supposed to be a 'deep' way to end the chapter xD;; I am so sorry._  
_I wasn't sure how to add Hibari in since him and Mukuro had a lot of history in the role-play; I think I might just leave it out or add it in as an innocent crush, what do you guys think? _  
_Thank you Niji95 for reviewing this fanfic I'm not sure if you received my message or not so I'll thank you on here as well. I'm glad you like it ^^_  
_And please review if you like it, that one review was what made me finish this in one night so if more of you feel like it then don't hesitate to tell me what you think, its great motivation :) I'll thank you like this if you_  
_Thank you to all my friends reading this as well, especially the ones who are supporting me and my beta and co-story creating person  
_


	3. Chapter 3: Much, Much Worse

_*EDITED*  
_

_Here's a sad part about Leo to begin this chapter. Hope you enjoy.. um, well maybe you shouldn't since it's supposed to be sad xD Please review ^^ _

_(I'm trying to edit this with Moulin Rouge songs on so sorry if its crappy; just be happy there aren't any random lyrics slipped in)_

* * *

A few weeks passed and the doctor healed Mukuro's wounds over and over - until he simply couldn't anymore; the illusionist's body was cut up so badly and too much blood was lost.

And that is how Leonardo Lippi died.

There was no funeral; obviously no one could know so Byakuran had some of the funeral wreaths dump the body quickly and as quietly as possible so no one would notice the boss' secretary that had been missing for the past 2 months had been slowly and brutally murdered. I'd like to say that because of Mukuro possessing him; that the man playing Leo hadn't felt a thing. That just isn't true. Every cut; punch; kick and beating (among other things) that the illusionist in control of him had felt - he had too. So when Byakuran finally laid the final punch to his body that rendered them both unconscious he felt some relief. But he knew that Mukuro would not die - he'd have to go through that same torture again until either his own body failed him as well or Byakuran stopped - and the latter at that point didn't seem incredibly likely. He should have been glad about that; the person who got him into this mess; took over his body and life and almost made him loose his mind was about to go through the complete Hell.

But instead he just felt sorry for him.

"Boo! Byakuran always gives us the boring jobs!" The girl with long blue hair whom was nudging his shoulder cried in an awkwardly cute way.

"This important, if we don't move him then there will be suspicions and Lord Byakuran might lose some of Millefi members - then we'd need to kill them too!"

"Ah? But that would be way more fun that this!"

So they weren't even going to wait until he was actually dead, then? Well, it wasn't as if he was even worth that. Just some poor bystander who had been pulled into this messy war. These were his final thoughts before he slipped into his final sleep; Bluebell and Kikyo soon after dumped his body in a river. He was pulled out later and the police identified him but the trail soon ran cold - of course that has nothing to do with this story really. 

* * *

"Muku-chan I have a surprise for you!~" The cheerful voice was grating harshly on his ears and he opened his eyes slowly - one still covered with a patch.

Still? No, this was a brand new patch; that meant Byakuran had horribly mutilated him yet again. He looked at his captor and saw the gleam in his eyes - the gleam he only got when something especially bad was about to happen to him.

Oh no. He couldn't be..

He was, he was back in his own body. Under normal circumstances he would have been overjoyed over being released from Vendicare prison - but this just made everything a whole lot worse. Now Byakuran could harm his real self - and he could never escape the scars or the pain. They would forever be stuck with him - not that it mattered because he was beginning to come to turns with the fact he was now the man's whore. He moves his fingers slowly and sighed.

"Oh?~ are you not grateful...?" The underlying comment of what would happen to him if he said no was evident enough but he didn't answer. Byakuran stepped closer to the bed and stared down at him - daring him to comment.

He remained silent - bit his tongue.

"Are you finally giving in?"

No, he had no idea why but hearing it coming from that man's lips made his blood boil.

"I will never ever be yours." He found himself saying. He just couldn't stand for this treatment any longer, "Kill me instead! It's time you dropped this stupid charade of being 'lovers'.. no in fact that's a much too light way to put it. I am not your bitch, Byakuran!"

Byakuran's face darkened and a second later he found himself pinned to the bed.

"We'll see about that..."

* * *

How dare Mukuro say that to him? After he'd convinced the Vindice to get the illusionist out of their prisons - that had taken a lot of negotiation and bribing. He had no right to say that either - he was already his, wasn't he?

No.. He guessed not.

He would have to break him soon; it was taking longer than he had hoped - and Mukuro's emotional state was no help. One minute he was quiet and obedient and the next he was a sarcastic bastard. He looked into the illusionist's eyes while biting at his neck and sucking on the wound. They were getting dark and hollow - he was losing hope in himself and any chance of escape. He chucked to himself and kissed the Bluenette's cheek sweetly - and was rewarded with a flinch. Of course, the man wasn't used to simple, sweet gestures like that. Byakuran found it cute - he liked watching the scared look on Mukuro's face when he walked into the room - the look that was getting less and less hopeful of escape by the day; almost as if he was forgetting about his previous life and what it was like outside of this room.

Of course that was exactly as he wanted it - he wanted Mukuro to be just his and not to have thoughts of other things or other people. He heard the illusionist mention the Vongola's cloud guardian on several occasions now; usually when he was hoping the Millefi boss wasn't in earshot of what was being said. On one hand this angered him greatly; but it also meant that the illusionist was beginning to confuse what was being said in reality and what he was saying within his own thoughts. Confusing reality and fantasy was were madness truly began - Byakuran knew Mukuro was insane but he also knew there was sanity within it. It was important after all for an illusion master to understand both of them and be able to relate. If he made the illusionist loose that small bit of sanity that remained then he would surely break him. Perhaps he could even use Hibari Kyoya to do it.

Mukuro struggled at first but soon kissed back obediently when he felt those lips pressed against his own and grimaced at the still sweet flavour of sweets and sugar traces left on them. He panted and leaned into the touches; it enraged him how he didn't even need the drugs anymore - he had gotten so used to this feeling and now began to crave it.

* * *

Afterwards the illusionist lay limply on the bed next to the mafia boss and breathed heavily.

"_Great, so now you're a masochist too - that really isn't helping"_

"Are you thinking about that prefect again?"

The question made him jump - how did Byakuran know about Kyoya? He quickly shook his head. Had he been talking out loud this whole time?  
He really was losing what little sanity remained trapped in that room.

"Leave him out of this, Byakuran!"

"Aww.. that's adorable.. you do have feelings, Muku-chan!"

"I'm serious Byakuran! Don't drag Kyoya into this mess.." Mukuro was dangerously close to sounding desperate now.

"Well then, agree to being mine and I won't lay a finger on him, Muku-chan~" He knew he had him now.

"No way!"

"But what about your precious Kyo-chan...?"

"I trust him to look after himself.. " The illusionist blushed and looked away to the side.

Oh, so that was it. Mukuro really thought this prefect could stand up to him? He laughed at the thought. He'd simply have to show the man under him how serious about this he was. Even if it meant killing Hibari Kyoya - he would have this man.

* * *

"…Shishou's still not called me. He usually contacts me every so often asking how well my studies are going."

"Ushishishishi, is froggy worried about the pineapple?"

"Don't be stupid, senpai."

* * *

_*EDITED*  
_

_I feel like I'm repeating myself a bit and I know that a lot of the things they talk about might be brought back in later so apologize for that and my crappy organizational skills. _

_Also I hope you enjoyed me finally introducing more characters, the people talking during Leo's part were Bluebell and Zakuro. And of course the last few lines were everyone's favourite frog and prince duo~_

_Please review ^^_


	4. Chapter 4: An Introduction to the Varia

_Sorry is taken me so long to start this chapter – I've been drowning in course-work ;-; But I think I'm starting to get back on top of it now :')_

_(Who are you even talking to? No one reads this..)_

_Waah ;-; please review, it motivates me to write more.. _

_Oh! And I actually have a plan for where this is going now! :'D_

* * *

Fran walked into the den and sighed gloomily – the one person he really did not want to see was sat sprawled out across the cough; Prince Belphegor. He had no idea whether he was a real prince or not – most likely not. Why would a prince be working for an assassin squad?

"Move over Senpai."

The blond looked up and a cheshire grin crossed his face.

"Ushishishishi.. Peasants should remain below the prince. You should kneel"

The frog merely kicked the royal's legs away and sat down; looking towards the television. Bel had some shitty horror film on. The blood looked like tomato ketchup but the psychopath giggled at it anyway – perhaps he'd already seen all he decent ones and had to make-do with this crap.

"Ow." He pulled out the silver blade embedded in his side and bent it before slinging it back over to the other – he was pretty proud of the monotonous sound that escaped his lips just now. That surely annoyed the prince.

"Don't bend them and go leave the prince in peace frog."

"A maniac like you doesn't deserve peace, fake-prince Senpai.."

"Tch." Bel frowned and glared at Fran; he threw a knife at the TV set and grinned as sparks of electrical current roared back at him – Levi would be busy for a while later.

"… ahh.. now you've done it Senpai, Boss' show is on in an ho—ow." Another knife.

"He can take it out on Squalo then.. Its none of my business what pervy old men do in their free time."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, dumb frog"

With that the prince walked out of the room – leaving the frog alone with the smoking television set and his own thoughts.

* * *

_Stupid kohai. _The prince sat on his own bed sharpening a blade and glaring impatiently at the window – it was sunny outside with small patches of cloud; a faint mist beginning to come in from somewhere far away. He growled at it. _Fran. _He had no idea why the boy annoyed him as much as he did – perhaps his cocky attitude? His way of disrespecting the prince? Something about the teal-haired little twit really ticked him off.

Bel had long ago given up on finding out why he felt the way he did about certain things; he knew he was no normal – that no 'sane' person would feel the need to see those they hated; and even those they admired or loved soaked in a thick red liquid. He used to hold back his impulses – but again; he had long since gotten past the stage of trying to comply with societies morals – if he wanted to do something he would do it; he was a prince after all. But when it came to the frog – well – the blond had no idea what he wanted. Fran wasn't Monta so it didn't even matter if he hurt or even killed him one day right?

Bel sighed – he dearly missed his infant friend. Mammon and Belphegor had spent much of their time together in the Varia – Mammon being one of the only people there able to put up with the maniac for longer than a few hours at a time. He thought back to that final day they spent together.

_"Bel, stop stabbing that corpse.. you're starting to scare the subordinates."_

_"Ushishishi~ But Monta, look at all this pretty blood!" _

_"Boss told us to find that Millefiore group before the end of the week and get rid of them, we need to get a move on."_

There had been an ambush waiting – some of the other Arcobaleno had died on that day; as well as some lower-ranking Varia. Bel considered it the second time in his life where witnessing someone die had not been a good thing.

Fran was just the replacement – nothing else. Perhaps that was why Bel could never look at him for too long without getting that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach – that feeling that was so very 'un-Bel' like. Fran made him not want to stab people. That useless frog – he was so annoying he caused the prince to lose his killing instinct, so to make sure he didn't lose the feel of it completely he would stab Fran – take out his frustration on the cause.

Later the prince went down to get dinner – finding the entire family around one table (minus Levi of course; Boss would never allow the grunting oaf within ten feet of him while eating – he was surprised. This barely ever happened; probably one of Lussuria's failed attempts at getting them all to bond with each other – whatever that meant.

"VOOOOOIIIII BEL YOU FUCKIN PIECE OF SHIT, GET YOUR ARSE HERE NOW. WE'RE HAVING A MEETING."

A true Varia greeting.

Bel sat down next to his kohai and looked towards the commander. Squalo looked back over to Xanxus who had proceeded to point his right hand gun at the shark's head – probably a reward for shouting while he was sat directly next to the boss and probably giving him a headache or aiding the hangover he almost always had.

"Right trash, as you know the Millefiore are planning to attack soon. I had a call from the Vongola brat earlier about putting plan B into action."

"What's plan B?" The stupid frog held up his hand and gave everyone the same deadpan expression.

"This is my first meeting, remember? Well.. if this is what you could call a meeting considering there's a steak over there burning, Lussuria~"

"Oh My!" The man rushed back off to the kitchen at that. Bel never understood why he didn't just hire kitchen staff or get one of the subordinates to do it. The sun guardian always insisted on cooking food for the seven of them himself – so when he wasn't there they usually lived on takeout and whatever they could throw together out of the cupboards. Squalo could cook for himself and Xanxus but no one else. It certainly wasn't the type of food expected of a royal diet and Bel often found himself grumbling about the lack of richer tastes – thankfully they always had strawberry ice cream so he never caused much of a problem.

"Plan B involved bringing the younger guardians of the Vongola to our current time."

"Why would they want to do that if they can't defeat the Millefi at their current power?"

"THE FUCK SHOULD I KNOW, FROG TRASH?!"

And that was pretty much the end of the discussion as the food arrived then.

* * *

The Varia's mist guardian sat alone in his shared room – 'shared' meant that it was actually Bel's room but he'd been shoved there since the rest of the rooms had been either blown up, had weapons and equipment shoved inside them or were being occupied by all the extra subordinates necessary for the missions.

He sighted – as one of the most important members of the Varia; one of the main seven he had expected his own room.

Lussuria had told him it was because Mammon used to share a room with Bel – he was only small and the Varia's mother had always thought Bel shouldn't be left on his own in case he 'caused himself some damage' – whatever that meant. So when Fran had joined the Varia Luss' excuse had been that Bel needed someone to keep him company so soon after his friend's death. But now he'd gotten to know the prince he wondered if 'friend' was the right word. Bel wasn't capable of showing the compassion needed to make a friend – babysitter was more like it.

He frowned and closed his eyes; attempting to contact his master one more time – he could feel the fake psychic link but just couldn't reach it. It was getting weaker.  
He wondered if Mukuro was alright – Fran would never admit this to Bel but he thought of the pineapple as the closest thing he had to a father – Mukuro had taken him on as his apprentice at a young age and he'd never know his real parents. His grandmother and the other illusionist were the only family he had ever known.

Failing to make any sort of contact he opened his eyes again and sighed – pulling the frog hat off and sitting it at the side of the bed. The blond would be mad if he saw Fran without his hat but at that moment he couldn't care less about what the prince thought of him. He closed his eyes and attempted to enter his own little world. It was a place he'd created from a memory of his childhood – he sat alone by a small stream; his Varia uniform replaced with a simple white top and a pair of black shorts. Mukuro had told him that he should never completely relax in this place – it was much too dangerous for an illusionist to fall under the spell of an illusion – especially their own. It could cause him to become a prisoner in his own mind.

But sometimes he'd come here just to get away from the other Varia. It was so peaceful – Fran liked to spend time alone in the woods by this lake when he was a young boy. He would sit by the bank and skim stones; watching the fish swim past until the sun set over the trees.

One particular big; bubble-headed fish swam closer to the bank than the others – it looked out at him with beady eyes; smirking and said..

"Ushishishi~ Froggy is in the princes' bed."

He groaned and opened his eyes looking up at the storm stood over him.

"This is my bed, Senpai."

"This is my room so it's also my bed."

He knew he wouldn't win so he decided to shut up; quickly grabbing the hat before the prince decided to stab him for removing it.

"Don't take the hat off, stupid frog." The prince said as Fran was pulling the hat back over his head – it was so hot inside it and he was certain that only pleased the other – making him as uncomfortable as humanely possible was one of Bel's favourite pastimes.

Why did the prince insist he wore the stupid thing anyway? So he'd look like a complete moron and distract all their enemies?

"There are a few reasons.. it means I don't need to look at your face and it reminds me of Monta."

"Oh? I thought it was just a really overdone racist joke.. "

So the maniac could read minds too now? Or had Fran given too much of what he was thinking away on his face?

"Neither. The prince is just a genius~"  
Of course that was the answer he was given.

"But it's a pain; it hurts my neck and it's hard to move around in.."

"Not my problem." He said before flopping down on the same bed and causing enough of an impact to throw the frog off with a bounce and a 'kerro'. The prince chuckled and Fran curled in on himself in the corner to try to drown out the insane giggling that was now escaping the prince's lips.

Why did he have to stay here?

He really hoped once all this was over he could go back to France; to his Grandmother's little house.

Hell, he'd rather be back at Kokuyo Land than in the same room as the dreaded Prince the Ripper.

* * *

_I should write an collage more often. Since I have nothing better to do I can actually get more done xD;; _

_So what did you guys think of my first BelFran chapter? _

_Please review and tell me ^^_


	5. Chapter 5: More Varia

_Whoop, getting through this a lot faster than I thought. Now for more BelFran ;)_

_Hope you enjoy~_

* * *

Bel was waiting for his next mission – finally a chance to get away from the stupid frog and get his own thoughts straight in his head. He wanted nothing more than to get back to his true Princely nature – cutting up and ripping people to pieces; turning people into spiky knife cactuses. It really got his own blood pumping.

"Ushishishi~" He threw a silver knife up in the air and caught it between two fingers; smiling as it glinted – in the reflection he saw a familiar face.

"What do you want, pathetic frog? Come to grovel before your prince?" He grinned at Fran – watching as the other rolled his eyes but managed to keep his face straight and unmoved.

"You wish, perverted fake-prince."

"Not that the image of you on your knees before me isn't appealing, frog. I was thinking more along the lines of a bloody corpse. Wanna be a cactus?"

Fran looked at the prince like he'd just said something completely out of the ordinary – of course this was Belphegor so it wasn't.

"What?"

"Nothing~"

The frog groaned at that and flopped down next to the prince.

"Senpai, try to be normal.. just once."

* * *

Why did he have to be that way? Constantly giggling to himself as if he always had some horrific ulterior motive – probably because he always did. Bel always had killing on his mind; everything was about the blood. Bel was perfect for Varia in that way – he didn't care about the missions or about being 'loyal' but he knew that if he complied and acted as though he did he could continue to butcher the lives of whomever Xanxus wanted – and that if he helped them then people often overlooked any 'slip-ups' he might have; there were days where ordinary people annoyed him too after all.

This is what Fran hated about Bel – they were complete opposites. Belphegor barely had control over his actions – the involuntary laughing and stabbing was proof enough of that; but it was when he let his true nature take over that really annoyed Fran – Prince the Ripper was vile and brutal; the perfect killing machine. It was disgusting.

Fran was much more controlled – he never allowed his emotions to get the better of him; he never even allowed anyone to see them. This was something his teacher had taught him – Mukuro had told him never to allow others to see his real emotions. He knew the older illusionist did this by hiding everything in that evil smirk he always had plastered to his face – to many others it seemed a lot like Bel's behavior but it really wasn't. Mukuro had much better control over what he allowed himself to do and to say – Bel was just a maniac.

'_Shihsou.. I hope he's okay.'_

Fran curled in on himself and tried to ignore everything around him.

He felt something sharp in his side and sighed; looking over to the prince.

"Oi Frog. What did you want anyway?"

Oh, that was right..

"I came to tell you that we're going to be partners for our next mission."

* * *

The royal stared at him for a while – a mission with Froggy? He must be joking. Bel jumped up and ran to Xanxus' office.

"Boss! What is the meaning of this?! Why do I have to work with the dumb frog?"

"I prefer 'top magician' thank you."

Bel didn't even stop to wonder how Fran was instantly by his side again – he'd just call him a creepy stalker later to punish him for following the prince.

"We need a Storm and Mist for the mission.. besides, you used to work with the old mist trash." Xanxus didn't even look up from his work.

"Monta was different!" Bel shouted.

"Like I care! GET LOST." He pulled out his gun and prepared to shoot – at which point the prince and frog quickly closed the door.

"There you have it, Senpai.. looks like we'll be seeing an awful lot more of each other unfortunately."

Great. Just great.

Now he'd never feel like his true self. He wondered if the frog had actually been accepted into the Varia purely to make his life a misery. That was all he ever seemed to do anyway; annoy the prince. He glared at the other who looked blankly back at him. It was Fran's inability to show emotion that got to him more than anything else – he wasn't passionate about anything; he just trudged through life being a sarcastic little brat. Bel ran back to their room and locked the door; pinning knives into it and pushing them through as a warning for anyone stupid enough to follow – this was like having another shitty brother fighting for attention. Bel was a prince, he deserved more attention than any of them.

* * *

When Fran got to the door and found knives poking out he groaned – so now Bel was throwing a tantrum? What a brat. He went to get something to eat instead..

"Fran-chan! You're looking especially adorable today!~"

The kitchen just had to be Lussura's territory. The Varia's self-proclaimed 'mother' – and the gayest person Fran had ever seen. He had thought Mukuro was bad enough whenever he fought with the skylark but this just topped anything else. The flouncy, over-powering and yes, 'fabulous' sun ran towards him and gripped him in a hug that can only be described as some form of medieval torture.

He slipped out from the bear hug with some effort and made his way over to the fridge.

"Aww.. you know I'd always cook for you if you asked, Sweetie!" He was surprised the words hadn't put him off his food – but an afternoon spent with prince the ripper had made him hungry. He shook his head and took a pudding from the fridge and a spoon from the drawer – sitting down to eat it.

"What's his problem anyway?"

"Who?"

"Our favourite psychotic prince. Why is he such a prat?"

Lussuria sat down next to the Varia's newest member and smiled slightly. He'd known Bel for a long time now and as the Varia's mother he knew he had to take care of the welfare of his teammates – he'd done the same for Mammon just before he'd died too.

"Well, Bel-chan is a strange one.. but he has his good points too!"

"Name one."

"He's.. sweet. In his own way" Even the sun had to admit that was weak. Bel had no good points beyond his killing potential.

"Nice try, Lussuria."

Fran threw the pudding pot away and left – he decided to go for a walk somewhere to clear his head. He walked to the park near the base; one of the only places that the mafia hadn't bought for practice. It depressed him how the world they currently lived in belongs to one of the main families – most to the Vongola and Millefiore.

Everywhere was green and blue and... normal. He missed that.

* * *

Xanxus and Squalo had sat up late into the night deciding the following week's missions; Lussuria was to be sent to take care of a large family in central Italy and to meet up with the Cavallone's top assassins to do some training. Squalo would be sent to meet Levi on his mission to attack some Millefiore members planning on taking down the Vongola, and he would be going to see Tsunayoshi about their plans for future battles.

As for Bel and Fran..

They both looked at each other and groaned; knowing there was absolutely no way they could leave an empty base in the care of a well-known psychopath and a moody teenager (even if Fran is 19 in this for the moment).

"Damn brats.."

"VOOOOIIII I'M NOT TAKING THEM WITH ME!" Squalo shrieked but immediately quietened down when his head collided with a wine bottle.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP TRASH, YOU'LL DO AS I SAY"

But he wasn't about to let four of the Varia's elite go on the same mission so he had to think of something else. In the end he and Squalo found a mission for the prince and frog duo. They smirked at each other and finally agreed on something.

"Perfect."

Once that was over with the two got on with something they both much preferred. Xanxus always wondered how they never had Lussuria passed out outside after they were done – the shark was so damn loud. But at that moment everything was so peaceful; Squalo slept soundly next to him, his hair tangled up in the boss' hands. He smiled contently – something he barely even let Squalo himself see. The shark would probably let it go straight to his ego that he'd been the one to make his lover smile in a way that wasn't maddened with rage and anger. The two brats would be out of his hair by tomorrow; along with the gay and the smelly pig-buffalo. That would give him and Squalo a whole two days to their selves before they had to face the world.

He sighed and closed his eyes then; soon falling into a deep sleep and unconsciously moving closer to the other man.

* * *

_Nice bit of XS to finish there :) Since Bel hinted at it already in the previous chapter xD Sorry this one was a little shorter _

_As for Bel and Fran's mission well.. you'll have to wait for a while yet to find out what they've actually been sent to do~ (haven't even decided myself yet tbh .;;) _

_The next chapter will be the start of the mission though and then after that I'll be going back to take a look at what happened to Byakuran and Mukuro after those first few chapters_

_Review and send me your ideas if you want anything to happen ^^ _


	6. Chapter 6: Everyone's a Peasant

_Another new chapter already? Wow, I really have no life xD;;_

_I wish more people read this fic though ;-; But sadly this is a dying fandom.. waah its sad to think that tho._

_Also I was thinking maybe I should change the way I've written some things in the first few chapters. The 10069 story compared to the B26 one is written so differently. I know it's a darker plot and all but Jesus Christ..._

_I might change some of the things that happen in those ones too. Just a warning!_

* * *

So the next day the prince and frog set off into the world ready to take on their top-secret mission; they'd been told to find an informant who would give them what they needed. The mission was so secret that they didn't even know what that thing was.

"Ushishishi~ Froggy, lets get ice cream!"

Fran almost fell flat on his face at that – what a way to break the atmosphere.

"No Senpai.. we need to concentrate. This mission is important. You can't just run in, kill a bunch of people and leave like you normally do!"

He groaned – this was going to be a long week.

He sat on the plane staring out of the window with prince the ripper asleep in the next seat; he looked even more stupid.. his hair tilted to the side, mouth slightly open.. cute.

Wait what?

No way! He did not just think that this egotistical bastard was cute did he?!

He must be tired. Yes, had to be..

So the illusionist closed his eyes and drifted off himself.

He was woken up an hour or so later by a sharp jab to the side and a familiar laugh in his ear.

"Rise and shine! We're here.. We're in Switzerland… The land of cheese!" The prince fell over laughing at that. Fran looked at him and sighed – he'd have to deal with this idiot for a while. At least they'd be getting separate rooms in the hotel; something he'd be stressing to the rest of the Varia (except Levi, no one speaks to Levi) that they desperately needed. He climbed down the steps from the plane and watched their luggage being loaded into a car.

* * *

The airport was empty; obviously the Varia had seen to it that no civilians were around to witness the arrival of two of Varia's finest. The air smelled sweet after being on the plane for so long and the two wanted nothing more than to stretch their legs and take a walk – instead they stared at the car coming to pick them up; standard Vongola-issue. Boring. Bel sighed and looked around at all the planes.

"Can't we fly a jet instead or something?"

"No.. because they're too expensive and it would draw too much attention."

"Ushishishi, you're no fun, Frog! The prince should get a jet if he wants and then he can watch all the peasants trample on the little toad as he takes the civilian route~"

"Shut up Fake-Prince.. we're not taking the civilian route.. we're taking the mafia route. Which is pretty much the same but more exciting… I guess?"

He rolled his eyes at the blabbering frog – apparently someone couldn't take a joke. But Bel was excited anyway. He was in a new country – which meant more new people to stab. He took out one of his brand new silver knives he'd had specially commissioned and traced a finger lightly over the blade – careful not to break the skin. His palm shook slightly and he grinned.

* * *

Fran eyed him cautiously; he'd heard what happened when Bel's 'royal' blood was spilled from his teacher. Apparently the Vongola's storm guardian had got the brunt of it and lost the battle to the prince. He didn't know all the details – only that Bel was almost dead by the time the fight was over; and he still hadn't given up. It scared him. It scared him how dedicated Belphegor was to his princely pride.

They made their way to the hotel and flashed their Varia cards quickly to the man behind the desk.

"I-I'll get your rooms ready straight away Sirs!"

The colour drained from his face and he ran into the office to find the keys for the two assassins. He handed them over with shaking hands and bowed.

Fran took the first key – room 26.

Bel took the second and grinned – 44.

He was two floors below the stupid prince! Fran couldn't believe his luck..

He wouldn't even have to deal with Bel stabbing the walls or his weird laughing whenever he had an especially creepy dream. It really didn't seem odd he knew so much about Prince the Ripper's sleeping habits at that moment.

They were staying at this hotel for a whole week. He was free.

* * *

The two spent the next day apart enjoying their alone time. Bel walked around the town and bought some new clothes. A red jumper with a low V-cut neck that clung to his body and worn black skinny jeans. He put them on and left the shop dressed like that after paying. It would be better not to cause a scene and try to blend in with the surrounding area – his Varia uniform did anything but that.

He saw Fran had the same idea when he returned to the hotel; the younger boy sat alone in the library with a pile of books resting on the little coffee table next to him. He had on a baggy green t-shirt that slipped off his shoulder, a black shirt underneath which had remained unbuttoned and dark grey pants. He read some of the titles of the books and groaned – '_The history of Switzerland' _and '_Great Wars' _were among two of the smallest – though they were hardly small. He knew Fran took an interest in the places he went and he liked to know everything he could but sometimes he just couldn't deal with how geeky the other was.

* * *

The frog noticed the prince straight away; he wasn't so engrossed in the books as Bel thought. They were boring and a little bit long-winded but Fran much preferred the world on the page in front of him than the reality around him. He still would much rather be reading a fantasy novel but the library had a very limited supply of those and the ones they did manage to supply he had already read before. He supposed it was always a good idea to read more non-fiction anyway; he might learn something valuable for the mission.

He felt a light draft and movement in front of him and looked up to receive a face-full of blond hair and a large Cheshire grin. Bel was perched directly in front of him smirking, he slowly extended his hand to Fran's face and flicked him on the nose.

"Senpai!"

The older boy fell over in fits of laughter but was quickly shushed by the library staff and the frog. Fran knew the prince was bored and wanted attention. He was such a childish brat sometimes.

"Froggy! We need to start looking for suspects."

Well that was unexpected. Fran had thought the other would put off their work until they actually had no choice but to move in and complete the mission. He sighed then realizing that Bel was probably just impatient and wanted to get to the bloody part as soon as possible.

"We need to find out what the bloody mission brief means first.. I know you hadn't bothered to read it, stupid Senpai. It's practically a riddle!"

* * *

The knife thrower was growing impatient. He never read the briefs; they hall told him the same thing anyway – he just had someone to kill.

"Well lets go read it then.. The Prince will explain it to the poor stupid frog."

"Don't be so big-headed." Fran practically sighed.

"Don't be such a peasant then."

"That doesn't even make sense! I'm not even poor enough to be a peasant.."

_Ushishishi, silly frog._

"Everyone's a peasant when you're a prince, Froggy."

* * *

Fran knew there was no getting through to him and didn't bother trying to explain the class system and how it went beyond 'Royalty' and 'Peasants'. Bel only saw himself, he saw 'The Prince'. No one else was worth his time. Besides he didn't even believe Bel was a real prince – he was probably just some weirdo who escaped the looney bin one day and got caught by the Varia before he caused too much damage. Maybe he should ask Luss when they got back.

Wait, why was he even interested in that idiot?

"Don't even go there Fran."

"Hmm?"

Crap, he was thinking out loud. He shook his head at the other.

"Nothing. Doesn't matter." He said quietly. He needed to make sure something like that didn't happen again; an illusionist's thoughts are to remain completely private if they have any hope of blocking telepaths. Not that Bel was one but he was clever, even Fran admitted that. He didn't want to prince to figure out how to read him. Luckily the blond had no real interest in the frog and let it drop.

"So who do we have to kill?"

* * *

They went to the illusionist's room since it was closest to the first floor. They both had a copy of the brief even though Bel claimed to have lost his so Fran sighed and pulled his own out from under his pillow.

It was a short mission plan, reading as follows:

'Find the informant in town and pay him for information regarding a certain person. Show him your Varia badges and ask about the 'man with the blue hat' – he will tell you what you need to know. Follow his instructions.'

"That's a really weird brief. They usually have a picture or description of a target.. this is just cryptic as fuck."

"Well it isn't that kind of mission, Froggy~" Bel loved puzzles. He enjoyed things that really made him think; even if they did unfortunately involve exercise. Maybe he could get Fran to carry him. Maybe not..

* * *

Fran puzzled over the mission a little longer and still couldn't make heads or tails of it. He assumed the so-called 'genius' had seen something he hadn't so he looked over to the prince and gave him a blank stare hoping for the answer.

"What's it mean?"

"Haven't got a clue~" The prince smirked back at him. Fran facepalmed.

"This isn't an anime, Froggy…"

"Huh?"

"If you don't get that I'm not gonna bother explaining it…"

Fran simply deadpanned and went back to flicking through the papers, wishing he could have Bel's simple ignorance or faith – whatever was keeping the prince so relaxed and calm.

"His confidence maybe…?"

"Ushishishi, A peasant like you would never understand~"

* * *

_Okay, bit of a weird chapter with a lot of changed perspective between the two characters.. those will start to get longer I promise!.. I've been writing this for a couple of weeks now because of deadlines at college so I'm sorry if things seem a little out of place or don't follow on, I'm quite forgetful :'( But I do think this fic is getting a lot easier to write_

_I hope you enjoyed it anyway xD Maybe its just that B26 is a lot easier to write than 10069.. I feel like I can make more jokes because their plot isn't as serious and because Fran. But I'm back to 10069 in the next chapter to catch up with Byakuran and Mukuro~_

_Please Review ^^ It would mean so much to me if you did. I'd give you cookies!  
_


	7. Chapter 7: Pizza and Romcoms

_Getting a little bit more confident with writing this now :') _

_Wanted to thank a few people ^^ First thankyou to NguTheFanfictionWriter who shared this on Tumblr for me when I was upset no one was reading it. She's an awesome friend xD_

_Thank you to my lovely Beta YunaAbyss :3 _

_And to Kaissica for reviewing ^^ Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying this and I promise there will be more B26 soon (especially since that's what everyone's been asking for and they're a lot easier to write anyways)  
But now for some 10069…_

* * *

The illusionist was alone again. He wasn't sure if he preferred that to Byakuran being in the room with him or not. His own thoughts were beginning to scare him too; all of them being of the white-haired don and how in all his time at the base he'd only made one escape attempt which had failed miserably. He hadn't even gotten close to escaping before the other found him.

_"You know you're pretty much useless without your powers.."_

_His heart sank deep and he could feel the shiver that voice sent through him. The price he'd pay for began to haunt his thoughts._

That had been two weeks ago and Byakuran still hadn't dished out any sort of punishments for trying to run away. He knew that thinking the other would just forget about it was stupid, there was no way he'd miss out on the chance to remind Mukuro of his predicament. But he'd hardly seen the other man since then; he must be getting busier with his work. In fact he'd only seen him about three times within that time; twice he just came in to pick something up from his desk and completely ignored Mukuro. His hand went to the clinical eye-patch stretched over his head and he felt that familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. Fear.

Byakuran had taken away the source of most of his power. He'd no longer be able to call on beasts or possess others (not that he'd get the chance anyway). He still had his illusionary power of course; but that was slowly and painfully being taken away as well. Besides, with only one eye and a room of white he didn't have much inspiration; what would he do if he lost the other and was thrown into a world of complete darkness?

He knew some illusionists who'd lost their power after going blind; it's almost like how people often lose the ability to speak after they go deaf. What use were illusions when you couldn't see what was in front of you or what you were fighting against?

He looked down at the handcuffs and wanted to cry. He didn't though. Mukuro would have liked to say that was because he was too tough to cry but the reality is that he just couldn't; maybe it was because he barely got enough to drink?

Maybe it was because he was just so scared..

* * *

It was a bright day outside; sunny and a clear blue sky: completely free of clouds. But Byakuran was inside with his work. He sighed and looked between the window and the large stack of papers in front of him.

Then he thought about the illusionist trapped in his room. He'd been pretty much on his own for a few weeks now. Byakuran himself had hardly seen the other man. He frowned, he did intend to spend a few hours every day verbally torturing the other but he was beginning to get bored of that.

Bored? Was that the word?

No, he wasn't bored. He blinked, slightly surprised as he realized that he simply didn't want to torment Mukuro at that moment. Well, he supposed there was nothing wrong with that. The other man was his to torture or torment whenever he chose to; he didn't need to feel a need to do it that was all.

In fact he felt like giving Mukuro a little break today; a distraction. He smiled and picked up the phone sat nearby on the desk.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like a large pizza please.. with pineapple." He giggled to the teenage voice on the other end and was rewarded with a confused tone.

"Okay.. anything else?"

"Do you do marshmallows?"

"On the pizza…? N-no… sorry"

"Damn." He hung up after giving the address of one of his subordinates that lived close by. The pizza was soon brought to his office and he took that along with a couple of DVDs, before walking up to his own room.

* * *

Mukuro looked him up and down when he came in.

"What's that?"

"Pizza!~" He was confused by the answer he received. In the end he assumed that Byakuran was planning to eat it in front of him and laugh. Instead he found a plate shoved in front of him with a piece of the Italian food on it; small pieces of pineapple sprinkled over.

This was a joke, right?

Still, it was better than suffering through another beating so he took a bite and was surprised by how good it tasted after so long living off bread and whatever Byakuran chose to feed him; it wasn't usually this tasty.

"Its good."

Mukuro would come to find out later that the pizza wasn't really that good compared to a lot of others but he would come to always favour it over any other.

"Isn't it?~" The other grinned at him and threw the DVDs onto the bed too.

He flinched at the impact but then felt a little silly after wards. Luckily, Byakuran didn't really seem in the mood to make fun of him today. Instead he just leaned forward over the bed and gave the illusionist a quizzical look.

"Which one do you wanna watch?"

"O-oya…?"

This confused him even more now. The man who had savagely beaten him, tortured, humiliated and disfigured him was asking.. which DVD he wanted to watch?

He looked over the choices.

"Bridget Jones' Diary or The Notebook?"

"Yeah, pick one!"

He gave the self-proclaimed angel a look that Fran would have been proud of.

_What the fuck?_

Byakuran merely giggled and waited for his answer so after some time he pointed to Bridget Jones.

"Ohh good choice.. that's one of my favourites!~"

"Since when were you a teenage girl, Byakuran?"

Suddenly he felt more at ease, the other wasn't making any surprise attempts to hit or kick him. Instead he just calmly put the disc in to play. Byakuran flopped down next to him and pulled him into an awkward hug. He let his head fall limply at the others side and rested on his shoulder. The mafia boss had removed his jacket so shoulder pads weren't stuck there making him uncomfortable; quite the opposite actually. Byakuran felt warm and… fluffy.

They watched the film together like that, eating the pizza and not saying a word to each other. But somehow that was okay. It felt right. Eventually Mukuro started to feel tired and he closed his eyes, still leaning on the other's shoulder. His body felt heavy and he could tell he was going to fall asleep – he didn't realize how tired he was until just then. He'd barely been sleeping because of the fear that he'd wake up to the mafia don smacking him for falling asleep in the wrong place or at the wrong time.. or just because he was annoyed.

But now he felt safer, he had no idea why and he doubted Byakuran even realized this – he was probably just acting nice on a whim. It was a little chilly in the room and he shuddered, but pretty soon he dozed off. Just before he did; those few seconds between dozing and falling asleep he could have sworn he felt something light and feathery cover him and wrap around him – keeping him warmer and comfier.

* * *

Byakuran smiled softly at the magician cuddled up next to him. He slipped the illusionist into the bed carefully and covered him up, turned off the television and left as quietly as he could manage. He didn't know why he did any of that for the other man. They were enemies. But he did know that right in that moment he didn't feel like hurting Mukuro. He wondered why that was but couldn't find an answer, so he began to head back to his office.

"Aww! Byakuran, you watched Bridget Jones without me! Boo!" He looked down and saw a girl with long blue hair walking by his side pouting; her hair was drenched and dripping water everywhere so he guessed she'd just been for a swim.

"I'll happily watch it again with you Bluebell-chan! But we'll have to watch it in my office, Muku-chan's asleep in my room~" He grinned, they didn't finish it anyway. But he did still wonder why he showed this side of himself to Mukuro – a side only his closest teammates had ever seen before.

"Aww okay! Can't you just wake him up? None of us have been allowed in there since he got here!" She pouted and then smirked "Whatever could you two be doing?~"

"Probably nothing as bad as you're imagining, my dear.."

He sat down on his chair and pressed a button so a large screen was soon displayed on the wall, then nodded at Bluebell to put the disc in.

She giggled and skipped over to the flat-screen.

"Bluebell... I feel really odd."

"How so?~"

"I didn't want to hurt my little prisoner today.. he was too cute."

* * *

"'Cute'? That illusionist?" She raised an eyebrow and then pouted again, putting her hands on her hips in an attempt to distract the boss from his gloomy mood.

"Better not be as cute as me!"

Byakuran smiled slightly and then grinned. Of course he couldn't like Mukuro in that was… What was he thinking?

"Of course not! You're my cute little sister~ You always come first!~"

Bluebell grinned but thought about it more when they began watching the film. She shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth – Byakuran had it brought to them about ten minutes in – and thought hard.

Was her boss falling for an enemy? And Mukuro Rokudo on top of that…  
She remembered reading some of the files they had on the man. He hated the mafia! She began to worry that the illusionist was feigning affection for the don in an attempt to trick him.

But Byakuran would never fall for that...

* * *

Mukuro woke up wrapped in the soft covers of the others bed and pulled the blanket over his head. It was much too bright in that room.

He sighed and thought back to earlier – the nice Byakuran.

What was he playing at?

Treating his prisoner like that..

He decided not to worry too much about it though, surely he'd be back to normal again later – or tomorrow. He didn't know the time after all. Time passed quite fast in that room despite Mukuro having nothing to do but lose his mind.

He blushed and remembered the nice feeling of the other's arm loosely draped around his shoulders; his hand even tangled into his hair at one point. Slowly raising a hand to that spot and looking down he bit his lip.

N-no way!

He needed to focus…

So instead he re-lived those fights with Hibari Kyoya in his mind. Those fights they would always both secretly look forward too. He knew Kyoya felt the same way from the look in his eyes he got whenever Mukuro agreed to his challenge. He felt it in the contact they had between weapons – Kyoya adored their fights.

He smiled and allowed himself to think just this once that maybe what the skylark enjoyed was their time together; and not the activity it involved.

* * *

_Another quick chapter now I have my motivation back.. _

_FUCK ITS SO COLD O_O_

_So I guess this chapter's all over the place. Probably because I'm too used to writing in a different style no because of B26. Well Byakuran was being nice in this chapter.. but don't worry, there is a reason! I'm not just changing his character randomly. There is a perfectly good reason I promise~_

_What did you guys think of the relationship between Byakuran and Bluebell? :')_

_Did any of you like the bit about the wings? I found that really cute while writing it and I might bring it back in at some point in the future.. _

_I hope you enjoyed, please review ^^ (seriously it gives me so much motivation)_


	8. Chapter 8: Misunderstandings

_So after sitting through a half-way decent psychology lesson this morning I now have some really good ideas for this fic in the future.._

_ In this chapter I'm gonna talk more about those ideas, I've been leading up to a few of them already. I hope some of you can already guess what's going on with Byakuran (well that would kinda ruin the surprise but I am making it sorta obvious kinda.. I guess)_

_Anyway, read and review please :')_

* * *

He was nice enough over the next week; obviously something had gone right. Mukuro couldn't help but worry that perhaps someone had been killed in a battle; or something horrific along those lines. One of the Vongola?

He highly doubted he would care. If it were Kyoya then Byakuran would be rubbing it in his face, not inviting the illusionists to watch his favourite movies. He had faith in Fran to stay out of trouble as much as possible for the brat he was. Ken, Chikusa and Chrome he was worried about…

Ken and Chikusa would probably just avoid the fight between the two family; the two despising the mafia almost as much as himself. But Nagi, well… she was different. The girl didn't have a nice upbringing with parents who cared about her or even any real friends. Human friends, anyway. She would not hesitate to endanger her life if it got someone she cared about out of trouble; be it himself, one of her comrades or her boss. And when such occasions arrive she would call on him for help; they happened less often than they used to. She had grown a lot since then. But from time to time she would call on him to help her get out of a particularly difficult situation.

He thought back to when he first met the girl; she was lying in that hospital bed after the car accident. And he could hear her parents just as well as she had. He hated them. He hated them as much as his own parents who had given him away to be tested on at such a young age. The magician lied back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. In fact Mukuro had a theory that all illusionists – at least the powerful ones – had been through some form of hardship in life. To make decent illusions you needed to understand what would really scare someone; what would scare them so much that it could possibly cause them to lose their sanity.

Nagi's past was the perfect example; as ironic as that sounded. A young girl who'd been left to her own devices when she grew up. When he'd taken her to Kokuyo they often spoke telepathically; he asked her about everything. At the time it was because things like this interested him – the way the mind effected people and how a childhood like theirs could lead to a strong will and a mind powerful enough to create illusions. Eventually as he listened to her stories about the years of abuse from her father, her mother's divorce and then how her new father and even her own family began to ignore her as they realized she didn't fit their ideal of what a normal little girl should be like. She wasn't perfect, no one was. But they couldn't accept that.

Byakuran actually reminded him of Nagi in some small ways. Not obviously – but with the little things that people wouldn't notice at first. He knew neither seemed to have had a proper childhood; he had seen her situation and he felt it through the other man's actions. The Byakuran he had seen in the past two weeks always had a joyful light in his eyes – but it was stunted. It was as if something was holding him back from really enjoying himself. Mukuro imagined that Byakuran had one of those families that push their children to exceeding their expectations; he was always stressed and when he did relax there was a nervousness about him that couldn't go unnoticed.

Then there was the way they both looked at him with those big purple eyes and that innocent gaze; someone who hadn't had much of a chance to really see the world. It sounded strange to describe someone attempting world domination in that way; but that really was the impression he got from the man.

Of course there was the desire to be perfect too. Byakuran took it to a more extreme length than Chrome did but it was still there in both of them. The girl, even as she got older, would try to impress and live up to his high standards; always practising her illusions and trying to help him whenever she could. Perhaps she was scared that someday he would turn his back on her too. That would never happen, obviously. He would only ever give her what she could handle, nothing more. The illusionist was actually somewhat relieved at the thought of Nagi making her own illusionary organs now – she had been for some years. With him trapped in this room she surely would have died within a few minutes of his own power getting taken. He was grateful she had learned so much in such a small time – enough to help her survive.

Now, Byakuran strived to find perfection in everything – especially himself and those around him. The world was disgusting in his eyes. Mukuro thought about how the past week he hadn't been too bothered by the little things that really used to irk him. His suit was usually spotless, a pristine and pure white. But just yesterday, he had seen the other walk in with a coffee stain on his jacket.

_"What's that..?"_

_"Hm..?" The white-haired man looked to the mark and smiled. "Oh! Bluebell made coffee this morning but it was a little hot."_

_"You don't care?"_

_"No, why would I? I can get it washed later.."_

The reply had puzzled him but he never had claimed to understand the don. However, he was finding him more and more interesting. Perhaps if he figured out how the man's mind worked he could even find a way out.

Of course that alone wasn't the real reason he was so interested but he would never admit to that..

Never.

* * *

Byakuran came back to him room later and flopped down at the side of the bluenette. He leaned his head on the other's shoulder and gave a long and eccentric sigh. Mukuro looked up from one of the books Byakuran had brought him earlier that week – another one of his 'whims'.

"Kufufufu.. What is it, bored?"

The other man pouted.

"Even without your telepathy you can read me that easily, huh?"

"It isn't hard to see when you're being this annoying.." He pushed Byakuran up off him and the other fell like a dead weight again, giggling.

They fell back onto the bed and Mukuro looked up into his eyes and blushed slightly.

He looked back into the deep blue or staring into his own amethyst ones. Then frowned slightly.

What had actually happened to his other eye?

Byakuran had a few faint memories of Mukuro from the previous weeks. He remembered the other posing as his secretary Leo and he remembered the start of their fight. Everything else was a blur. Then all of a sudden the illusionist was tied up on his bed one day – he somehow knew the other was there before checking but didn't remember why or how. He knew it wasn't by choice from the look on his face and the dark tone under his words. But this man was his enemy, right?

So none of that mattered.

He should treat him as a prisoner.

A really cute prisoner…

The illusionist was adorable, he had come to terms with the fact he found the man attractive and he knew Mukuro felt similar; he blushed around him so often that he must feel something. So he took a chance and kissed the other softly on the lips.

The angel was surprised to find no resistance or even shock in the returning kiss. The magician leaned into his touches and closed his eyes after just a few seconds, opening his mouth to allow him in. The kiss went on for a long time, getting deeper and more passionate. He was surprised; for a first kiss it was… perfect. Mukuro knew exactly what to do to make it enjoyable for him.

Byakuran broke it off after a while and panted slightly – he wasn't expecting things to go on as long as they did and his face was probably as bright as a tomato.

"M-Muku-chan… you…?"

The other raised an eyebrow and looked confused. Almost as if this kind of thing happened every day.

"I..?"

He took the man's hand and smiled at him.

"I really like you~"

"You do…?" Another confused look.

He blinked and nodded. Was the illusionist still stunned by the kiss or something?

"Of course! What did you think that kiss was about?! I-I never expected you to kiss back.. at least not like that!"

* * *

"I thought you liked it like that..?" Mukuro was so confused. If Byakuran wanted him why didn't he just push him down against the bed like he usually did and...

Well, he wasn't about to embarrass himself further by thinking about that.

"H-huh..?" It was Byakuran's turn to have the confused fish look now.

In fact, the other had acted a little strange. This was their first kiss in almost a month now and he had thought the other would have been a little bit more forceful about it. There was no biting, no blood. It was just… nice. It was more than nice. It was passionate and longing, but not in the way he was used to.

He decided there was no point in dragging this out; besides if Byakuran was going to kiss him like that again he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. The other was probably just playing some weird game with him anyway. So he lied back against the bed and pulled the other with him.

"Well?~ We haven't done this all month and I'm getting a little bit bored.. "

He couldn't actually believe what he was hearing. A month ago when this was pretty much all they did he never would have said something like that, but now he almost missed the angel's touch.

* * *

"M-Muku-chan… what are you doing…?" Byakuran's eyes widened as the other began to unbutton his shirt. This wasn't what he was thinking at all, they'd only just kissed. And what was Mukuro talking about? '_We haven't done this all month?' _What?!

He got up off the bed with a confused and startled look, pulling his shirt back on.

"I-I just kissed you.. I-I don't know if I want to go any further yet… "

The look on the illusionist's face instantly changed. He was expecting the other to be angry with him for saying no to his advances – but instead there was surprise. Then the bluenette blinked and his one good eye widened, looking at Byakuran.

"W-Wait… you're saying you didn't want to have sex with me..? But I thought that's what I was hear for…?"

"W-What?! Of course not… you're just my prisoner.. "

With that Byakuran had had enough, he sighed.

"Listen Muku-chan… I think you need help." Then he left.

But one thing was grating at the back of his mind.

If Mukuro was just his prisoner then why was he always in his bedroom?

* * *

_I really hope this chapter made sense _

_So I'd like to talk about some of my theories for the illusionists, I did bring some of those in to this time and I was hoping to write more about that here now. Basically my theory in this chapter was that illusionists are not common – this is hinted by Reborn in the Varia arc I guess. He says how it's rare to see a fight between two illusionists. Then in the future arc we see Lal Mirch use a mist flame, but not illusions. Lal was originally supposed to be the rain arcobaleno and have Colenello's place..._

_I think to be an illusionist you must have a pure mist flame with no other attributes, and you must have had something bad happen in your life – this seems to be a running theme in KHR anyway but I get the feeling its more prominent in illusionists, eg. Chrome's past when she tried to save the cat, Mukuro being tested on. Genkishi had a horrible past too - even if I can't really remember what it is right now - and Fran was living with his grandmother when the Varia and Kokuyo came to find him, suggesting that something had happened to his parents._

_Maybe I'm just looking too far into things but I just really love the illusionists they're so awesome and there's so many things you could write about them or make up for them. I have a load more theories that I'm gonna bring into this fic soon :')_

_Hope you enjoyed it, please review and tell me what you think ^^_


	9. Chapter 9: Angels Aren't Always Perfect

_So I'm in English and bored again… *finished the work*_

_Thank you so much to the people who reviewed last time ^^ You guys make me feel so much better about my writing._

_Thanks to Niji95, s.e.c.r.e.t and DarkKurayami who reviewed last time ^^ And yes! (Not writing what I'm answering yes to, you're gonna have to guess~)_

_And I hope this chapter may make it a little bit more obvious what's up with Byakuran xD But if it doesn't then don't worry. I will reveal it soon (after my next few B26 chapters)_

_And of course to YunaAbyss (my lovely Beta) and NguTheFanfictionWriter (who has to put up with my stupid moping) I love you guys_

_Please enjoy reading and review :')_

* * *

Byakuran didn't come back for a long time after that. It was at least another two days since the illusionist saw the other's face again.

And it didn't look happy.

The mafia boss stormed into his room, face full of a frown and stood in front of him, he took the book from him and held it up.

"And where the fuck did you get this?!"

Mukuro blinked and looked at the man.

"You gave it to me…"

He saw the flicker of light hit the deep purple orbs and flinched. Byakuran threw his arm round and slapped the book into the side of his face. It was thick and heavy, he felt some of the pages rip and fall out of the hard cover.

"Don't lie to me… Where did you get this, Mukuro?"

He blinked away the involuntary tears and gulped. The memory was still there clear as day; the memory of Byakuran bringing a pile of books into the room with the excuse they were cluttering up his office before stopping to ruffle his hair and give him one of those angelic smiles he had come to look forward to.

"… y-you gave it to me?"

The other glared at him then and kicked him to the floor. He carried on the abuse for what felt like a very long time but couldn't have been more than ten minutes before the illusionist caved in. He knew he shouldn't be lying to the don in case he saw through it or found out somehow. But he also knew he had to tell the other what he wanted to hear.

"I took it."

"…What did you say?" The look of disgust soon turned into a fierce snarl and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"I-I'm sorry… I just thought." Byakuran must have seen through that. Being stripped of illusions had left him powerless and he knew the lie must have been completely obvious from the scared look on his face. He cowered over and shook.

"Don't you dare steal from me, Mukuro…"

_What?_

Another harsh kick to his side and then he felt the other spit on him.

_But he believed it._

After that the kicking stopped and he was pulled back up onto the bed.

* * *

"I don't have time to be so angry over something so petty right now… Someone has leaked information about our location to the Vongola."

Byakuran watched as Mukuro's eye widened when he said that and all the colour drained from his face. He started to shake again.

"…It was you, wasn't it?"

_How could he?! How could he betray him like this?_

Byakuran knew there must have been a reason to Mukuro infiltrating the base; he felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. However he had also been told that Mukuro often acted for his own goals – he was separate from Vongola. He had actually been told the illusionist hated Tsunayoshi.

Still, if their goals were the same…

"What did you get for it?"

"O-Oya…?"

"…What did Tsunayoshi give you for the information about the base?"

"Nothing! I-I just…"

He lashed out again and smacked the magician across his pretty little face. Byakuran just couldn't believe he'd been so stupid, the answer was right in front of him the entire time. If only he'd consulted with his parallel selves. But he had never expected much from the illusionist; from someone he had beaten so easily. No, he had greatly underestimated this man – and that made him mad. He drew back his hand again ready to give another slap.

"There are some people that I wanted to keep safe."

That made him stop dead in his tracks as an image of Bluebell came to his mind – closely followed by Kikyo, Zakuro and the rest of the funeral wreaths. Byakuran didn't care about many people, he could throw away the fakes and the phonies – but not them. It's not like they were his friends or anything.; just pawns in his plan. He didn't really care about them.

He thought back to when he first found each of them – Bluebell's smile when she looked up at him and grinned…

_"Big Brother!"_

_The nurse pushing the wheelchair gave him an apologetic look._

_"I-I'm so sorry sir… She's just lost her brother you see… She does this sometimes…"_

_He looked into the girl's eyes – those cold, dead eyes. But there was a small glimmer of hope in them still._

_"Hey Bell." He had no idea where the name came from. It wasn't like he even knew her real name; she said she didn't need it anymore. She was Bluebell now. His Bluebell. She looked up and smiled at him._

_"Have you come to take me home today?"_

He could feel his eyes well up and he sat down on the edge of the bed. His cute little sister.

What if Mukuro had someone like her?

Someone he had to look after?

To Protect.

He put his head down in shame hoping the other wouldn't see. What was wrong with him?

Suddenly crying like that, it must have looked disgusting.

Then he felt something wrap around him and looked up into the worried look of the captive magician who had wrapped his arms around him. He had no idea how much courage that took but he was grateful for it.

* * *

Mukuro had no idea what he was doing, why he was… hugging his worst nightmare. However, he didn't stop, he curled up next to the other and kept his mouth shut, Byakuran looked like he really needed it right now and he realized for the first time that he had no idea what this man had been through; what had caused him to act how he did. He knew nothing about Byakuran beyond the fact that he was the Millefiore boss.

And he felt guilty.

_Why? It's not like I asked to be here._

There wasn't a real reason but he felt bad about everything. He should be more careful around him; not only to protect himself but for the other man's benefit too – something wasn't right here and Mukuro had seen it time and time again. The man had some problems to deal with.

"You okay?" He asked quietly hoping the angel wouldn't mind.

He got a nod in return.

"… I-I'm sorry Muku-chan. I don't know what happened… I just suddenly started crying."

The response was, again, confusing.

Why was he trying to justify those actions? He knew full well that Mukuro wouldn't say anything about this. He was too scared of him to do anything. But even so the blubbering speech came through over the sobs. The illusionist didn't really know how to comfort a crying mafia boss. He could honestly say he'd never had to do anything like that before in his entire life.

"…. Byakuran?"

"Yeah?" The other sniffled.

"W-what are you crying about…?" He knew this could completely change the mood again and the don could easily see the question as impertinence and beat him again. Still, he needed to know.

The white-haired man sighed and looked at the other.

"I don't remember… Something reminded me of Bluebell and I suddenly felt like crying for some reason, but I don't remember what. Silly, isn't it?" He smiled sadly.

Mukuro blinked and looked a little shocked.

_"There are some people that I want to keep safe."_

Perhaps they weren't so different after all.

But why could he not remember him saying that if it triggered such an emotional response?

And if he couldn't remember that could he even remember beating him up just a second ago?

The illusionist decided to try something then. He waited until he had the other's attention before wincing and biting his lip, holding one of the wounds on his side where Byakuran had kicked him particularly hard.

The man's eyes darkened and he looked at the illusionist.

"M-Muku-chan! What happened to you?!"

* * *

It was a while later once Byakuran had the doctor come to his room and see to Mukuro's wounds. He didn't remember the illusionist having them when he last saw him but they didn't look self-inflicted either.

In fact when was the last time he saw the other man?

Oh, that's right! It was yesterday… When the illusionist had tried to…

He blushed furiously then.

He remembered the feeling of their lips pressed together and sighed softly. He wondered if they'd ever have another moment like that again. Maybe if he could convince Mukuro to like him back – without making him think he needed to do anything like… that, well then maybe they could—

"Lord Byakuran! Please concentrate on your work."

"W-Wha…?"

He snapped out of his daze to see Kikyo stood in front of him with yet another thick pile of paperwork. Well, it looked like he wouldn't be moving from his office for a while yet. So much for any fantasies that may or may not have involved a certain mist user locked in his room.

He groaned and put the pen to the paper – beginning to write.

* * *

_I can only sympathize bby ;-; I too should be doing work now rather than writing more of this fic. But agh! I'm enjoying writing this so so much now! I just want to write _

_Oh yeah, Ngu and me made a BelFran ask blog a couple of nights ago :') Any of you guys reading for the B26 should go follow us and ask questions. We're rping versions of the Prince and Frog duo two years into their relationship though. But please send us your questions! ^^ _

_It's actually time for some more BelFran next time so~_

_Not quite sure why but its made some of the text bigger on the submission format so if its still like this before I manage to fix it I apologize_

_Please review xD _


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